An opinionated glossary of the above termsAcidity: Acidity, or the pH of water, is measured on a scale of 0-14.7 is considered neutral. A pH value below 7.0 is acidic. It can cause corrosion of copper plumbing, brass fixtures, heating elements, and steel tanks. This results in a blue-green stain on sinks and tubs.The Acidity per se is not a health risk, but if minerals leach into the water from your pipes, that could potentially cause problems.Chlorine: A chemical used as a disinfectant, it is also a respiratory irritant and can cause irritation to the skin.Not that good for the insides of us, either.

Cryptosporidium: a microscopic parasite that resides in human intestines and can become waterborne if drinking water is contaminated by sewage, such as when a storm drain backs up.It causes diarrhea.According to the Centers for Disease Control, “during the past two decades, crypto has become recognized as one of the most common causes of waterborne disease within humans in the United States. The parasite may be found in drinking water and recreational water in every region of the United States and throughout the world”.

Dirt:particles of earth that are good for growing vegetables in but are not appropriate for drinking or bathing.Dirt plus water = mud.

Giardia:another parasite, originally found in mountain streams and now found in the common water supply.Causes problems similar to those caused by Cryptosporidium.

Hardness: Minerals dissolved in water, primarily calcium and magnesium.To a lesser extent manganese and iron may be found as components of hardness.Hardness is not a heath concern, but it can cause household problems such as soap scum on tubs and showers, mineral deposits on dishes and glassware, and reduction of the efficiency of devices that heat water. As hardness deposits build in thickness, they act like insulation, reducing the efficiency of heat transfer.

Iron: The presence of iron in water is not considered a health hazard. However, an excessive amount of iron causes red, brown, or yellow staining of laundry, glassware, dishes and household fixtures such as bathtubs and sinks. The water may also taste metallic and smell bad. Pipes and fixtures can also get clogged over time.

Manganese: Manganese is not a health problem. Complaints arise with high levels of manganese in household water because of the brownish staining of laundry. There may be a change in the taste of the drinking water too.

Rotten egg smell (hydrogen sulfide): Hydrogen sulfide is an odiferous gas found in some water.It can be especially smelly when the water is hot, and it will alter the taste of food and beverages like tea and coffee. It can also be corrosive to metal parts of washing machines and the plumbing.

Trihalomethanes: Chemical by-products of the chlorination process, particularly if there is organic matter in the water being chlorinated. THMs include four chemicals: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dribromochloromethane, and bromoform.In 2005 the EPA set standards for lower amounts in the water supply, having concluded that they cause an increase in cancer risks.

Turbidity: the lack of clarity of water. Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness because of the suspended matter in the water.It can be an indicator of disease-causing organisms in the water, but may simply be from the benign presence of sediment.

People who call our office are sometimes distressed to hear that they need to get a water analysis, especially if they have a well.It seems like an additional expense, and it slows down the process of getting that filter they have finally decided to install!

So why is it so important to have your water tested?

From our point of view, we want to recommend the right combination of filters for you, and no more.Also, there may be contaminants that are unexpected. Sometimes dead animals have fallen into wells and are making bacterial contamination, or MBTE has seeped into the water supply from a gas station in the area.We have seen it all in our 24 years of experience!

From your point of view, you may end up saving money because you may not need as elaborate a system as you had thought.

Even if you have city water, it’s sometimes a good idea to have a water test if you think your pipes may be old, or if there has been an incident of contamination in your municipality.

We always recommend that you go to an independent lab.Some of the water filter suppliers offer to test your water for free.Those tests may or may not be as accurate or complete as those coming from an independent EPA-certified lab.We have been sending potential customers to a lab in Leominster, Massachusetts for the past 20 years.Their work is impeccable, and we have absolutely no financial arrangement with them.They are ETR Labs and their website is http://www.etrlabs.com

In 1980 a teacher said to me, “In ten years every family in America will have to take responsibility for the quality of their own water supply.” Shocking as that statement was at the time, it stuck in my mind. Three years later, my husband, a physicist and electrical engineer, decided to start a part time business selling reverse osmosis water purification equipment. Being a thorough researcher, he found several independent producers of top quality systems, and we were in business.

At first, we only offered home water systems to people in our area. We did little advertising, and it was barely more than a hobby. It was a time to learn more and more about the technical side of the business and to observe the growing need in the world.

The advent of the World Wide Web gave us the opportunity to expand our offerings to the whole world. By 1994 we were on the internet and in 1997 we went full time with purewaterexpress.com. We now offer all types of equipment, and we are proud that it is made in the USA or Canada. The USA still leads the world in the design and manufacture of the highest quality water filtration systems.

Our website, http://www.purewaterexpress.com/ , is a place for you to learn about water filtration in great detail. The purpose of this blog is to talk about water-related issues that can’t be discussed there. In the coming weeks and months, I will be discussing environmental, political, and economic issues related to our water supply.

I will also tell you how to prepare yourself for emergencies, how to change filters by yourself, and details about various chemicals and minerals that cause problems in your home water supply.

There will be some news stories, so check back to see if there is water-related news about your community.